A miraculous ninth inning lifts Nebraska baseball to a 7-6 win over Minnesota
Nebraska baseball (40-14, 22-7) failed to muster any offensive juice early but pulled off a six-run ninth against Minnesota (30-22, 11-18) to break the hearts of the Gophers 7-6 on Friday night in Minneapolis.
The Huskers turned a quiet night into chaos in the top of the ninth, stringing together a relentless rally against a revolving door of Minnesota pitchers. A mix of singles, hit-by-pitch, a balk, and clutch two-out hitting fueled a six-run surge that erased a late deficit and flipped the game on its head. By the time the inning settled, the Huskers had turned frustration into a stunning comeback and a 7-6 victory.
Ty Horn turned in an impressive day on the mound for the Big Red. The Saturday night guy worked seven innings flashing his full three-pitch mix. He struck out eight Gophers and more importantly didn’t allow a free pass. The biggest hit of the game came on a two-run home run to get Minnesota on the board but that was the Kansas native’s only true mistake.
The Huskers offense was stifled completely for most of the game. They had only one hit until the eighth inning when Jeter Worthley launched a ball to left-center field to score the lone run for the Big Red. Isaac Morton and Joe Sperry fooled NU on breaking stuff with a lot of weak ground outs and guessing swings. Worthley finished with three RBI’s
Here is an instant recap from the heroic 40th win of the season….
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Morton’s nastiness allows the Gophers to get on the board
Nebraska had no answer for the Minnesota’s starter Isaac Morton. The Texas A&M transfer and surefire draft pick has been the most consistent arm for the Golden Gophers this season with a 4-2 record and a 3.43 ERA. He wasted no time making his mark in front of 22 pro scouts with a clean first frame filled with three strikeouts.
Horn also worked a flawless first with a strikeout of his own. The junior is making his second-straight start after being put back in the rotation following a stint in the pen. His changeup was working early, which was a point pitching coach Rob Childress made pregame to Huskers Radio Network, with multiple whiffs at 86 mph.
Morton continued the trend from his first frame. He touched 96 mph with his fastball and flashed a changeup at 89 with plenty of arm-side run for NU to deal with. His slider played well, forcing two of his three punch outs in the inning to bring his total to six after facing only six Nebraska hitters.
His dominance allowed the Minnesota bats get to Horn. Horn allowed an infield single that beat the shift before Easter Richter elevated a ball over the center-field wall to get the Gophers on the board. Both arms worked clean third innings to head to the middle innings with the Gophers ahead 2-0.
The bats stay still as Minnesota grows its lead
The top of the fourth turned into chaos in Minneapolis, and it started with Dylan Carey doing what he does—poking a single to center at 75 mph off the bat before immediately swiping second, his ninth steal of the year. But the bigger storyline came moments later when Morton was visited by the training staff and coaches and ultimately pulled from the game, forcing a lengthy delay as the Gophers scrambled to piece together the bullpen.
NU couldn’t fully capitalize on the disruption, even after loading the bases on a walk to Case Sanderson and another free pass to Drew Grego. Will Jesske popout and a perfectly executed relay play at the plate on Joshua Overbeek turned what looked like a potential big inning into a gut punch, as Minnesota erased Carey at home on a strong 7-2 double play to escape completely unscathed.
Horn continued to roll through the bottom half of the fourth. He punched out a Gopher to mark his fifth punch out to end the frame. More importantly, he had no walks through four.
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Horn allowed another blemish in the fifth to allow the Gopher lead to extend to three. He struck out the leadoff, Ty Allen, but he reached on a wild pitch. After stealing second, Allen came across on a ground-rule double off of the bat of Jack Bello. Horn walked off the mound at 63 pitches through five but faced a 3-0 deficit.
A miracle ninth saves Nebraska from an embarrassing loss
The Big Red went quietly again in the sixth, going down in order on a popup and two strikeouts as Joe Sperry continued to keep the Huskers off balance. The Gophers added to its lead in the bottom half, capitalizing on a miscommunication in left field and a pair of singles to push across another run. Horn worked through traffic but couldn’t fully escape damage as the Gophers extended the lead to 4-0.
NU went down quietly again in the seventh, as Sperry retired the side to keep the Huskers off the board for the third straight inning. Horn worked around some defensive chaos in the bottom half, including a comebacker that he fielded awkwardly off his glove before recovering to finish the frame. Minnesota again threatened but came away empty to end Horn’s day.
The Huskers finally managed their way on the board after two early outs. Worthley, who is The NU catcher on Saturday after starting in the left field on Friday, lifted one over the left-center wall to make it 4-1 into the bottom of the eighth.
Grant Cleavinger relieved Horn and hit the first two hitters he faced and got immediately replaced by freshman Braxton Braxton Stewart. The slider specialist retired the two men he was tasked and handed the ball to Ryan Harrahill. The Elkhorn North product allowed a two-RBI double to make it 6-1 and out of reach for NU.
The top of the ninth turned into complete chaos as the Big Red stormed all the way back against a carousel of Minnesota pitchers. Jett Buck brought home the first run with an RBI single, then a balk scored Grego to cut into the deficit before Mac Moyer worked a walk to reload the bases. Worthley then ripped a two-run single up the middle to tie the game, and Carey followed with an RBI knock to give the Huskers the lead before a wild pitch allowed Worthley to score the sixth run of the inning, capping a frantic rally that flipped the game entirely.
J’Shawn Unger came in for the unexpected save and recorded one out on one pitch. He got out two on a 1-3 putout that took his glove off. He allowed a single but then got the fly out to end it.
